Brendan Steele returns as the two-time defending champion and Phil Mickelson is also among the headliners.

The Caddie Network started our “Caddie Line” franchise back in July at the John Deere Classic, shortly after the site officially launched. Over that span (through the Tour Championship), our caddies identified 37, top-10 finishers, including six winners and six runners up.

How will they fare this time around with an entire season’s worth of work ahead?

It all starts with the Safeway Open.

We asked three caddies who are on the ground at Silverado who they like in the season opener.

To protect their identity, the caddies have submitted their three respective picks anonymously.

Let’s take a look at who they picked this week and why:

Caddie 1

Chez Reavie, “He hasn’t won at Silverado yet, but he always seems to play well there.”

Brendan Steele, “Look at his record – he’s won the tournament twice in two years. He loves the place.”

Andrew Putnam, “He hasn’t played since the start of September where he tied for 16th in the BMW Championship. He’s been putting in a lot of work on his game and he’s playing very well right now.”

Caddie 2

Cameron Champ, “This dude CRUSHES the golf ball. Not only that, he possesses the short game to back up the monster drives. I’m picking him to win every week until he does. He has a bright future.”

Beau Hossler, “Beau has a terrific golf game and fantastic self-belief. I’m looking for him to get off to a strong start in the 2018-19 season.”

Ollie Schniederjans, “I’m surprised this guy hasn’t won on the PGA Tour already. He is ALWAYS intense, ALWAYS grinding. I’m expecting him to win an event early in this year’s FedEx Cup.”

Caddie 3

Brendan Steele, “He’s going for the three-peat… so he likes this place.”

Chez Reavie, “Chez hits it straight and putts it well. That’s always going to be a nice combination.”

Kelly Kraft, “It’s his birthday week and he loves wine. A win in wine country would be fitting.”